On a sunny winter afternoon in Beijing, I met Ning Li in a simple teahouse. On time, he walked in wearing a jacket and carrying a large cross-body bag, looking like an ordinary office worker who had just arrived on a shared bicycle.
After sitting down, Ning Li played with the tea utensils on the table. He took photos with great interest and said that he would go back and take pictures of the tea utensils. Because he acted in "Under the City", he has been very interested in these Chinese decorations recently. It is indeed because of "Under the City" that this chat happened.
Poster of "Under the Fancheng", Ning Li plays Song Chen
"Under the Fancheng" is a group drama. Ning Li plays Song Chen, a small official historian who seems to be a cruel official. His eyes are gloomy, and he makes people laugh before he opens his mouth. Fear three points. For most of the early part of the series, he was sinister and mysterious, and the audience couldn't tell whether he was black or white. It wasn't until the truth was about to be revealed that his nature and life story were gradually revealed. He was burdened with suffering and had no way to redress his injustice, and he was full of talents that he could not display. When the audience finally saw the highlight of this character, Song Chen suddenly died.
Although Song Chen is not involved in the main case in this story, he is an extremely important role as he pulls the strings. Some viewers commented that Ning Li made Song Chen, a scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, seem to have really lived. He had studied hard in a cold window, and his talent was recognized by the palace, but he was affected by fate. His body was tortured, and his mind suffered the death of his classmate. It was painful, and in the end I could only go to a small county government office to find some "use", drink cheap wine in a brothel, and write poems with ink.
This is also after Li Toyota in "Undocumented Crime", Ning Li once again created a chilling but complicated character.
Stills of "Undocumented Crime"
When he came across the script of "Under the City" for the first time, he rejected it. First, because I was filming "The Wandering Earth 2" and I didn't have time to study Song Chen; second, I had just lost a relative and was in a bad mood.
Although he intuitively knew that this was a good script, he was not sure that he had the ability to do it. "I feel like I can't grasp this role."
The director Qian who was responsible for the casting was a good friend of Ning Li who he met when he was filming "The Silent Truth". Waiting until the Spring Festival of that year, he asked Ning Li to come out and talk about this drama. After some serious discussions, Ning Li decided to take on the role. He really likes this script, which is different from other domestic dramas. "This script feels somewhat similar to Chekhov's works."
"I have been sketching in my mind what kind of person the director is. Because this script involves a lot of details and the writing is beautiful. If you don't have a deep understanding of the Analects of Confucius, how can you use it? This makes me very obsessed. And In this story, every character has a complete story by extension."
Wang Zheng, the director and screenwriter of this drama, is making a feature film for the first time. In fact, for ordinary actors, it is very difficult to hand themselves over to a complete It was risky for a newcomer, but after two hours of phone conversation, Ning Li felt relieved.
Stills from "Under the City"
Regarding the role of Song Chen, Ning Li felt that he was like a hero in the end, "This is what touched me about him. There is still a little residual fire in his heart, and in the end he can put himself out there." Burn to death, illuminating the path of justice. Just like watching Chekhov's comedies, it is difficult for you to use a standard of good and evil to describe a character. He is not black and white, leaving more room for the audience's imagination. I think this is a characteristic of a high-level drama."
The reason why many characters are played so well by Ning Li is because he always designs some special features for the characters. The same was true for Li Toyota's anti-smoking before, but this time we will discuss it in detail As for the design of expressions and performances, Ning Li doesn't think these are worth overthinking and emphasizing. He has been thinking about them in the past few years.
"Skills are a double-edged sword. Sometimes I also wonder, what is the real smart thing? Maybe it is returning to nature. The most powerful thing is not acting in the end." Ning Li mentioned a saying of an old actor from Beijing People's Art Theater , had a great influence on him: performance should be poetic.
“This does not refer to poetry, but to a state, a feeling."
Stills of "Under the City"
[Conversation]
For Song Chen, death is a kind of relief
The Paper News : How to understand the character Song Chen?
Ning Li: I think that Song Chen is actually dead. Died, he and his classmates died many years ago.
The real death of a person is not necessarily the physical death. After his soul, his expectations, his hopes, and his dreams are all destroyed, this People are just trying to survive. It's just that for the little justice, righteousness, justice, and conscience that remain in their hearts, he becomes a classic. The methods he uses are extremely cruel, and he is a cruel official, but he has never been willing to do so. Touch his heart.
What is a hero? A hero is not special at the beginning, but at that moment, he became a hero. The same is true for Song Chen. At that moment, he was talking to Wei Zhixian Before the conversation, he just wanted to know the truth and did not necessarily want to interfere with the truth. But at that moment, he decided to get involved. He chose to help, and it was very likely that he would lose his life, but life didn't matter to him, and his physical body was no longer so It's important, he has nothing to miss anymore.
In the end, it was worth it for him to exchange his life for the light in his heart, so I think Song Chen is happy in the end.
Chekhov's plays are also like this, often without foreshadowing Something suddenly happened, because this is how people are in life. We are just used to seeing a model of drama. We hope to have foreshadowing in the drama. After the person dies, there will be music to make BGM. This is what we have been taught since childhood. Education has been brainwashed like this. In fact, there are no such exaggerations in life. Life and death are a matter of a moment.
Stills from "Under the City"
The Paper : How do you understand the complexity of Song Chen?
Ning Li: He doesn’t have any desires, he doesn’t have a family. He went to find Chun Xing’er. I don’t think it’s from a sexual perspective. He may need a confidant. He has no trust in anyone. He doesn’t trust this person. The world is full of fear, and the only one I believe in is Chun Xing'er. They are both fallen people from the end of the world.
His words particularly touched me. He said, remember, hope will never be a human being, and a human being will always be a human being. It will disappoint you. This is such a desperate and tragic sentence. The only thing that remains unchanged is the thing you pursue. After
masters this characteristic, his violence and gloom are all reasonable. This Chun Xing'er is his friend and his former self. Is it possible that this Chun Xing'er does not exist and he is talking to himself?
So when he was talking to Weizhi County, he was so shocked that he called Qu Sangeng back and tied him up, just because he knew that Qu Sangeng still had innocence, but he no longer had it.
He is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. To him, these things are all "nothing". This metaphor may not be appropriate, but to a certain extent, he is a bit like Javert in "Les Miserables".
Victor Hugo wrote about this character at the beginning of this novel. He is an absolute enforcer of the law. He once took his father to court and sent him to prison. He is an absolute enforcer of the law. People who measure life by the yardstick. But the law is a straight line, but life is twists and turns. In the end, when Javert saw the truth, he jumped into the river and committed suicide. This was his final atonement for his own inner sense of justice.
Song Chen also used the most severe and cruel methods to get the so-called justice. I don’t know what the law was like in the Ming Dynasty, but he wanted Weizhi County to redress his injustice. The difference between him and Javert was that he did not choose to commit suicide.
These two characters have similar approaches: we have always viewed Javert as a villain, because he seems to be the opposite of kindness, but in fact he is not. He also has his beliefs, and kindness makes him commit suicide because he You have to atone for yourself. Song Chen's final ending also has this flavor, death is a kind of relief.
A good drama will ultimately give people a dilemma. Any choice is difficult, not simply the option that is chosen.
Stills from "Under the City"
The Paper News : You chatted with the director for more than two hours before the show. What did everyone talk about?
Ning Li: We talked a lot, such as my understanding of this character, my questions about him, some of my settings for the character, and the details.
For example, Song Chen’s broken finger is a very important detail. I was thinking that during the actual operation, I might not notice it if I am not natural. If I do it later, I will keep wiping off my finger. The workload is too much. Big. The most important thing is that the audience has become accustomed to this severed finger. Once they get used to it, this setting will not easily shock.
I would like to suggest that you can wear gloves first. The audience will have a question, why does he wear gloves? And only wear one. When necessary, a severed finger appears for the first time, and the audience will think, why is his finger missing? Oh my God, this man is so terrible, he is lame and has a broken finger. In Cuihua Tower, I think his severed finger is also shown again. You can feel how inconvenient it is and how painful it is for a talented man. Director
is a very strict person and asked him to do some research to see if gloves had already appeared in the Ming Dynasty.
Also, when Song Chen was speaking, I designed a voice for him that kept making a "hum" sound (similar to the sound of the throat being short of breath). Later, during the dubbing process, I told the director Otherwise, it should be removed, because sometimes whenever the camera is brought to me, I can't stop it while I'm standing by. However, this interferes with the on-site conversation. Considering the audience's feelings, this detail was removed.
There is another detail, that is, in the scene of riding the donkey, I think his legs are disabled and there is no way to ride on the donkey with just one step, so he may have to sit sideways. The director said that this is very distinctive and fits the character, but it will be a bit dangerous to ride.
Stills of "Under the City"
The Paper News : Will you use expressions from Chekhov's works when performing?
Ning Li: Actually no, the purpose of our performance is to present a credible person to the audience, not just a symbol, not just a tool used by the screenwriter to convey ideas. No one knows what the ancient people looked like hundreds of years ago, what they did, or what they said, but after watching it, the audience felt that it was enough to believe that such a person existed, and the performance style was generally in line with that era. As for the highest task we have done, the writers have already prepared it.
So you must communicate with the director, for example, what is the style of the play? If the overall style is exaggerated, then I can break the fourth wall. Beyond that, your performance is just about convincing the audience that this is a person they can meet in their lives.
The Paper : This character is a literati from the late Ming Dynasty. Your performance is very similar to the literati of that era. Song Chen seems to have really come to life. Did you get to know the literati of the late Ming Dynasty?
Ning Li: I think we always have a literati class. Confucian culture has a great influence on us. Whether we study natural science or social science, we will be influenced by Confucianism unconsciously since childhood, so literati have a special temperament. .
None of us know what the literati of the Ming Dynasty were like, but we know what the current literati are like. There is an inexplicable pride in the character of the literati. There is a saying that literati look down on each other, and another saying is that they are proud of their talents. I can defy everything if I have talent. It doesn't matter if he is hungry or well-fed, but a scholar is very noble. Even though Song Chen seems to be a cruel official, he is a scholar at heart.
Stills from "Under the City"
The Paper News : Is there any passage that you like more?
Ning Li: I also like the paragraphs that everyone likes.In addition, I had a scene that I didn’t cut into the final scene, where he was having a conversation with Weizhi County. He said, I want to ask you one word today: injustice.
This was written at the beginning of the script. I told the director that Song Chen was always said to be extremely knowledgeable and very knowledgeable. He would talk about injustice as soon as he started talking about it. What is injustice? I checked specifically and found that "injustice" first appeared in the Han Dynasty with an explanation of a trapped rabbit. According to the glyph, this explanation is very similar, and it was later extended. Maybe this passage was a bit long and was eventually cut, and I can understand that.
But I particularly like this scene because it is the core of Song Chen's life. The two of them barely looked at each other and just talked so calmly. Chekhov's works are all like this, calm and calm, but the words are full of surging emotions. I like this form very much. Yelling is just an appearance. The real power must come from talking.
The Paper : Apart from the role of Song Chen, if you were asked to choose one to play, who would you choose?
Ningli : Weizhi County. The cold catcher is also pretty good.
Overemphasis on acting will appear insincere
The Paper News : During the filming and filming of "The Wandering Earth 2", some major changes took place in your life. Will this have any impact on your psychology?
Ning Li: The first time I came into contact with life and death was when my mother passed away. When I was in the second grade of elementary school, a neighborhood kid went swimming in the river and drowned. We were very surprised and thought, what is death? Death means that this person is no longer a person we can see from now on, because he has gone to another place.
Sometimes I think death is not scary, but the process of dying is a scary thing. Secondly, I originally saw an interview with Keanu Reeves. He said that death is nothing to the person involved, but that the people who love us will miss us.
The theme of "The Wandering Earth 2" coincidentally explores life and death. Whether it is drama, literature, or religion, they are all inseparable from the theme of life and death. What is life and what is death? Does it really end with the death of our physical bodies? Did you say Shakespeare is dead? Shakespeare is not dead, he lives in the hearts of everyone, and has been repeating his life in different people.
When I read the script, it was not that specific yet, but the concept of life was very attractive to me.
"The Wandering Earth 2" stills
The Paper News : After "Undocumented Crime", are there many scripts all at once? It feels like life has changed quite a lot.
Ning Li: Of course I am happy to praise you, but I tend to be anxious because I have to make a lot of choices. No one wants to miss a good opportunity, but at the same time I have to warn myself that this is a good thing. Anxiety and complaining They are all useless emotions. However, I am not a saint, so it is difficult for me to be truly calm and calm.
Ultimately for me, I like to simplify complex things or go back to the script. When I was filming "The Rival", while we were reading the script, I chatted with Guo Jingfei and said that we were very lucky to participate in this film because Wang Xiaoqiang is a very good screenwriter, but at the same time, he felt a little unfulfilled. , the script was written so well.
The actor industry has such contradictions. You want to act in a good script, but anyone can act in a good script. If we don’t act in a good script, we just read it and the audience will love to hear it. Of course, an ordinary script will not be bad if it is shot by a great team, but the audience sees the story, not the photos.
Of course, there may be times when you make a wrong choice, but there is nothing you can do about it. This is what I like. This is not a bet. You can't control whether it is a dark horse, so there will be no regrets.
Stills of "The Rival"
The Paper News : Do you have your own preparation state before acting?
Ning Li: Every time I join a new crew, I will feel anxious, because every time I create, there are different people. How do you create this character? This is starting over. This is very anxiety-provoking.
When I was performing in a play, I was extremely anxious until the moment one of my legs stepped onto the stage. The same goes for filming. I usually tell the director that if possible, don’t shoot the more important scenes in the first day or two. Let me get familiar with the person first. I first feel how he talks, how he lives, how he lives, and how he lives. Connect with people. I also need to get to know this person before I can bring him to life. I need to believe in this character so that he can make the audience believe in him.
I especially like to read photo albums. A friend gave me a photo album called "Waiting for the Stage". It means that before the opening, the stage manager is ready, and there is still half an hour left for the countdown, and the photographer will Film these actors backstage.
Some people are not talking to anyone, some people are sitting together playing cards, some people are in the bathtub in the dressing room, there is nothing in the bathtub, just lying in it, some people are holding a script, everyone's status All different.
Whether they are big actors or young actors, they are all anxious before entering another person's body, and everyone has different ways of resolving it. My state of mind is not to shoot heavy scenes, but to start with a relaxed one. But sometimes there is nothing we can do, and acting is the art of regret.
The Paper : Do you still hope that you have room for improvement, or are there any more heights that you hope to reach?
Ning Li: I don’t know how other people understand acting. I feel that overemphasis on this thing seems insincere. One word I always say now is: greasy. I put myself in front of the character - which is not sincere.
So for me, first of all, your understanding of this character, and your speculation on the screenwriter's intentions, why he wrote this character. The actor hides himself behind the character very sincerely. It's not that you are handsome, but the character is handsome. You are not that noble, but the character is very noble. Be sure to explain this clearly, otherwise what else will you see? What people see is a variety of characters, as long as the acting skills are adequate.
I am a very boring person, and I don’t have any other hobbies in life. The wonderful thing is the characters written by the screenwriter. They are rich and colorful. I am just a shell of them. After putting this thing aside, I am just a skin. .
Of course, I also constantly improve myself. When filming "Police Honor", I was deeply impressed by the collaboration with director Ding Hei. Sometimes he tells me, should you be like this? I say why should you be like this? He said because I know what your intention is. What I see is what the audience sees. What you show may not be what you really want to show. The audience may misunderstand or feel confused. Another way is more effective. Reflect your thoughts. He encourages actors very well and brings out their strengths.
"Police Honor" stills
The Paper News : Talk about the Chen Duxiu you played in "Ask the Cangmang"?
Ning Li: I really like Wang Wei, the director of this drama. He didn't just accept a task to complete, he really did a lot of extremely rigorous research on this period of history. Before every filming, he would tell us what happened before this period of history, what happened after, every time The background of each character, every time we filmed, we had a vivid lesson in modern history. He has a strong literary temperament, and he is a person worthy of my respect from his skills to his attitude.
This is also a group drama. In fact, we have all learned it from political textbooks, but when I actually experienced this creation, I found that each of them has their own life, emotions, and ideals. What they ultimately shoulder is the future of this nation, which gave me Very touching and influential. There are many times where I really feel something and the tears flow down unconsciously.
Stills of "Ask the Cangmang"
What we often struggle with is whether the choice of this drama is wrong. It is such a small thing. What they shoulder is a nation, a country, how many people and the future of their descendants at that time, you Making a decision is no longer your job alone.As a person, Chen Duxiu had his own ideas and pursuits, but he was also a party leader and he had some dilemmas and contradictions.
For example, his son Chen Yannian was killed by the Kuomintang reactionaries. When he learned the news while he was in a meeting, he suppressed his inner sadness and continued the meeting. He said that other people had sacrificed their lives and blood for the prosperity of this nation. Why not my son? He is very calm and calm. But after returning home, as a father, he cried loudly, which was very touching, because I am also a father, and there is no way to escape from human emotions.
The Paper: Now that is getting busier and busier, will he have less and less time for his family?
Ning Li: When I called my youngest daughter, I once said I'm really sorry. Dad is often filming and can't be with you. She said, "It doesn't matter. There are many students in our class whose parents see them every day, but they don't communicate with each other. Although you and I can only video chat, real companionship and communication are the real companionship."
she said After it was over, I felt quite relieved. I knew that my daughter was very sensible. We all need two lives, one is family life, and the other is professional life. The impression I gave them was that their father also worked hard. Every job has its highlight moments. The real highlight is what you give yourself. For them, this is something they should be proud of. They feel that "now in magazines" "My dad", everyone has such vanity to satisfy, but they know very well that the pride I bring to them is a persistence and investment in their own choices, so she does the same thing now.
The Paper: Does have his own book list and movie list at home?
Ning Li: I want to watch even though I keep buying it, but I don’t necessarily want to watch it, hahahaha. I think people should not be stubborn. Sometimes you are not at your best level, so don’t force yourself to see something. I've been reading Ma Boyong's book "Chang'an's Lychees" recently, which is quite interesting. I watched "Band of Brothers" again some time ago. I haven’t been exercising recently, so I should put it on my agenda.
